


Fragments

by didsomebodysaysterek



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Car Accidents, Death, F/M, Funerals, Grief/Mourning, Miscarriage, Unplanned Pregnancy, percabeth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-26
Updated: 2013-03-26
Packaged: 2017-12-06 13:51:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/736399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/didsomebodysaysterek/pseuds/didsomebodysaysterek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One second. That's all it takes. One second and suddenly everything you knew and held dear is ripped away forever. How do you rebuild your life after something like that?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fragments

A battered old Nissian chugs along the road in the misty twilight. It probably should have been scrapped years ago but from the excessive amount of duct tape holding the corner of the bumper together it’s obvious the occupants were unwilling to part with the vehicle. Currently there were two people sitting up front. A stony silence filled the interior and the tension was so thick you could have sliced it with a knife and served it with a side of salad.

The driver sat straight-backed, concentrating on the road ahead. He kept stealing glances at the boy hunched in the passenger seat. The boy sat in the closest thing to the foetal position that can be achieved while sitting shotgun. His face was neutral but the driver could see he was upset. His eyes had a 'storm in a teacup' quality to them as he fought to keep his composure. He told himself he would not cry. He would not break down at something as simple as this and especially not in front of his Dad. So he stared at the road ahead and tried to keep his emotions in check.

Percy was not good at this emotional crap. He was known for being oblivious and tackless and when it came to talking about feelings he always felt like he was in over his head. Annabeth always handled this kinda stuff. Usually he was the one who made the mugs of tea and supplied the Kleenex and awkward man hug. But that wasn't going to work this time. This time he was going to have to take the rains and pray that he would say the right thing. The silence was killing him and he really did not want this to ruin the start of their trip. He had been looking forward to spending a weekend on the beach with his family and he was determined that everyone would have a good time. He decided to dive in at the deep end and hoped for the best.

"You know she didn't really mean it."

"Yeah, well I think she did Dad."

This was not going how he imagined it. He had hoped that Mark would perk up and believe his words and everything would be great again but it never works like that in the real world. Marks reply was curt and snappy but it betrayed all the feelings of hurt he was trying to bottle up. He knew that Annabeth didn't mean it but it still hurt to hear her say it. He knew that she was stressed with work and that it was said as a result of that stress, but it's hard to forgive and forget when the one person you trust the most calls you an idiot. He couldn't help but feel as if he had let her down and ruined the relationship that had taken him years to achieve. He knew his mum would forgive him but that didn't help him feel any less hurt. They tumbled along in silence for another few miles as the scenery changed from city scape to sprawling countryside.

"When we first met every third word out of her mouth was idiot. 'You're an idiot. What are you doing idiot? Don't be such an idiot.' It's a minor miracle we even got together. Thalia said it was obvious we liked each other but she really could have fooled me."

Percy chuckled at that. He was totally blind when it came to matters of the heart. It took a few near death experiences to put everything in perspective. Mark was silent and Percy was afraid he had said the wrong thing. He really hoped he hadn't because if he had he had no idea how to fix it. He really hoped that he could solve this problem before they got to Montank because be really did not want to drag his mother into this family feud. She had enough problems with her own family without him piling his on her as well. Her relationship with Paul was going strong but the string of miscarriages was starting to take its toll on the poor woman. The last time Percy had seen her she was just a shadow of the woman she used to be. Her skin had an unhealthy sheen and her bones stuck out giving her a skeletal look. Sally Bolfis was a strong woman and it took a lot to break her, but this looked like it just might. Percy did not like seeing his mother like this. She did not deserve this. She was his rock, his guiding light. When all had seemed lost in the past Sally was there to rally his emotions and give him hope. Seeing her like that scared him more than anything else he had faced in his life. The thought of losing her…he didn't want to think about it. Paul had been changed by the event too. Gone was the man Percy might have mistaken for a TV actor. In his place stood a haggard man who looked like he held the weight of the world on his shoulders. Grief surrounded him like a second skin but he tried to be strong for Sally's sake. As much as he hated the thought of losing the child he did not want to think about how it would feel if he lost Sally. Percy was so deep in that depressing thought that he nearly missed Marks come back.

"Well if a tree could see it before you that's saying something about your intelligence."

"Brat."

The tension mellowed out after that and even though Percy was still a little concerned he could see Mark was getting over the scolding Annabeth had given him. They began discussing what they had planned for the weekend and the mood picked up. Mark was determined to beat his dad at surfing this year and hopefully build a somewhat decent sandcastle when they tried to compete with Mum. Dad had the benefit of using the water to hold his monstrosity together but it was never structurally sound and if he lost concentration the whole thing would collapse into a mound that often resembled a pile of crap. Mum's castles were always the best. They stood on their own with no outside help and often towered into the sky. There would be more than one room and once it even had a working canal system running through it. Mark had spent the whole of the last week working on his design for this year. He was sure he could win or at least match his mother. His dad wasn't really in the competition but his mum liked to humour him. There was one time that he had constructed something half decent but then mam had decided to distract his by planting a kiss on his cheek. The whole thing had disintegrated and Mark could not stop laughing at the look of disbelief on his father's face when he realised he had been tricked.

They had to stop for gas about half way and by then everything was fine again. Percy didn't know what would happen when Annabeth joined them on Saturday but that wasn't high on his list of priorities right now. At the top of that list was trying to get the stupid gas machine to except his twenty. He had straightened it out six or seven times and still the thing kept spitting it back at him. He had no other notes and they really needed the gas. Mark had gone into the kiosk to get them a pick me up but he was paying with coins. He could feel himself getting angry at the thing and he had to resist the urge to punch it. All that would do was hurt his hand and definitely wouldn't help his plight. He rested his head against the thing in defeat. He had survived two wars and defeated the Titan Lord only to be bested by a stupid gas machine.

"Is that your Dad?"

Mark had just reached the top of the queue. The woman behind the counter was pointing out the window towards the gas machine they had pulled up at. Mark had to laugh. His dad was leaning against the machine with a look of utter misery on his face.

"Unfortunately it is."

The lady gave him a sympathetic smile as she scanned the pastries and various other unhealthy things Mark had selected.

"That machine is temperamental. Tell him he needs to keep his note to the left of the slot or he could be there all day."

"Thanks."

Mark paid the lady and strolled towards his dad. He really wished he had his phone on him to take a picture of this moment but he had left it on his seat when he got out. He could imagine Aunt Clarisse's reaction to seeing the photo. The Hero of Olympus defeated by an inanimate object. He could not keep the smirk off his face as he took the twenty from his father and fed it into the machine as the woman had directed. The look on his father's face when the machine accepted the money was priceless. As Mark lifted the nozzle into the tank and began to fill it Percy turned into something like a five year old and sat into the car in a huff. Mark laughed at this reaction and replaced the nozzle before getting back in the car. His dad looked like he wanted to sit with his arms crossed over his chest forever but someone had to drive. Soon they were back on the road again and Percy tried to keep up his huff but with Mark giving him funny looks they soon descended into a fit of giggles. Mark was not going to confess that the lady had told him how to work the machine. Instead he kept looking at his father out of the corner of his eye and shaking his head. He kept it up for a few miles but then they fell into hysteria and he had tears streaming down his face. His dad was such a dufuss.

They were over three quarters of the way there when it happened.

The Cadillac came out of nowhere and ploughed straight into them.

They didn't stand a chance.


End file.
